The USPS letter carrier academy in New York City has changed its name to honor the late Anthony Puccio, a postal employee whose work ethic set a high standard for others to follow.
The Anthony Puccio Letter Carrier Academy, located at a Manhattan Post Office, features a mural of Puccio painted by Michael Mateo Sr., a Kearny, NJ, distribution operations supervisor, and a plaque that reads, in part: “Dedicated to service, he delivered mail in NYC for 62 years.”
Puccio began working as a letter carrier in 1958 and retired in 2020. He died in January.
He delivered mail on the same route — a nine-building apartment complex in Triborough Station — for his entire career.
Puccio, who accumulated approximately 4,200 hours of sick leave by the time he retired, received several awards during his career.
Among his many honors, he was selected to help represent the Postal Service during a Nasdaq closing bell ceremony in 2018, where he met then-Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan.
Always neatly dressed in his ironed postal shirt, tie and slacks, Puccio was affectionately called “The Dean” by co-workers because he “was always willing to teach and mentor young carriers,” said New York 1 District Manager Lorraine Castellano.
“He treated his customers … with the utmost respect and they, in turn, grew to adore him,” she added.
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